Tag Archives: dog

A Garden City attorney has asked the city commission to re-evaluate the cities breed discriminatory law, which was passed in 2002.

The current law labels the American Pit Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier or American Staffordshire Terrier, and mixed breeds that have “the appearance of being predominantly one of those three breeds” as automatically vicious.

This designation carries with it requirements that must be met if the dog is to be kept in the city. From the current city code:

“The owner of a vicious dog shall be subject to the following requirements:

(1)Confinement. All vicious dogs shall be securely confined indoors or in an enclosed and locked pen or structure upon the premises of the owner. The pen or structure must have minimum dimensions of five feet by ten feet and must have secure sides and a secure top attached to the sides. If no bottom is secured to the sides, the sides must be embedded into the ground no less than two feet. All pens or structures must be adequately lighted and kept clean and sanitary. The enclosure must also protect the dog from the elements.

(2)Leash and muzzle. The owner of a vicious dog shall not allow the dog to go outside its kennel, pen, or structure unless the dog is muzzled, restrained by a chain or leash not more than four feet in length, and under the physical control of a person. The muzzle must not cause injury to the dog or interfere with its vision or respiration but must prevent the dog from biting any human or animal.

(3)Signs. The owner of a vicious dog shall display in a prominent place on the owner’s premises a clearly visible warning sign indicating that there is a vicious dog on the premises. The sign must be readable from the public highway, street, or thoroughfare. The owner shall also display a sign with a symbol warning children of the presence of a vicious dog. Similar signs shall be posted on the dog’s kennel, pen, or enclosed structure.”

These things are also required of dogs, who based on their behavior, have been declared vicious. The request is to remove the breed based language from the law, leaving the vicious dog ordinance in place.

City officials have agreed that since the law had not been evaluated in over ten years that it would be worth evaluating now.

The city attorney is drafting changes to the ordinance and the changes will be brought forward at an upcoming meeting that has yet to be given a date.

Residents are encouraged to reach out to the commission to support a repeal. Please write to encourage the commission to remove the breed discriminatory language and to strengthen the breed neutral portion of the law to keep the community safe. There are ways in which the breed neutral portion of the law can be strengthened. For example, there is currently no definition of a potentially dangerous dog. A dog is either vicious or it isn’t. Having more nuanced categories allows officials to do something about a dog that may not be vicious but is not being kept in the safest way possible in the community. A reckless owner ordinance would also be a fantastic replacement for the breed discriminatory law, because it puts continued responsibility on the owner, even after they may get rid of a dog that has been declared vicious.

Be polite, factual and thank the commission for being willing to discuss the issue.

The Great Bend City Council will discuss a possible breed ban during their next meeting.

The meeting will be held on Monday May 20th.

There is limited information at this time about what positions the council takes and this appears to be a residents request that is being considered. The Council will consider a ban on “pit bulls and other vicious dogs.”

The Great Bend City Council will meet at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the City Office, 1209 Williams, Great Bend, Kansas.

Residents and locals: Please attend the meeting to respectfully and factually support breed neutral laws. Alternatives to breed discrimination can be found here. Tips for contacting legislators can be found here.

If you cannot attend the meeting please write with your opposition to a ban.

There are no e-mail addresses available for the individual council members but you may write to the City Administrator City Howard Partington at
hdpart@greatbend.com with a note that the correspondence is for the council.

UPDATE:

EDMONTON – An amendment has been passed at City Council which eliminates the contentious Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) from Edmonton’s Animal Control Bylaw. The BSL section outlined that certain dogs were labelled “restricted” solely based on their breed.

The Community Services Committee is set to discuss the possibility of BSL repeal on March 19 at 9:30 AM. View the agenda and supporting documents. The supporting documents are a particularly interesting read.

Please continue to send RESPECTFUL correspondence that highlights the many problems with BSL, offers effective breed-neutral alternatives, and requests the removal of the breed-discriminatory language in the current ordinance.

Sadly, the following news article is fairly inaccurate. Contrary to the article headline, the city report did not make a recommendation to either keep or repeal the city’s BSL. The article made several other inaccurate statements. The supporting documentation at the agenda link, provided above, is a much more informative and accurate primary source.

UPDATE:

Maple Wood is moving forward with legislation that would hold owners of pit bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, American pit bull terriers, or crosses of any of the breeds to higher regsitration and ownership standards.

While this is not a ban, the need to continue sending POLITE, RESPECTFULand INFORMATIVE correspondence to Maple Wood officials is still at hand.

UPDATE:

Owners protest breed-specific bylaw in Maple Ridge

More than 50 pit bulls, Rottweilers, Dobermans, Dachshunds and even Shih Tzus took to the streets of downtown Maple Ridge with their owners Sunday afternoon to protest a proposed bylaw that would single out certain breeds as aggressive.

Two months ago, District of Maple Ridge staff recommended a bylaw that would single out pit bull breeds, such as Staffordshire terriers and American pit bull terriers, as “aggressive” and charge their owners a $200 licensing fee annually, four times that of other breeds. Pit bulls would also be required to be muzzled when off the owner’s property and would also be subject to higher impound fees.

[…]

Bylaws director Liz Holitzki said singling out pit bulls is designed to encourage responsible pet ownership. While both the district and SPCA receive complaints about problem dogs of all breeds, there is significant public concern about pit bulls, in particular.

[…]The bylaw comes back before Maple Ridge council for discussion at a workshop meeting on Oct. 15, and Munz hopes councillors will have a change of heart and steer clear of any breed-specific language.

Proposed Maple Ridge bylaw to single out pit bulls

District of Maple Ridge staff are recommending a new dog bylaw that singles out pit bulls as “aggressive” and would charge their owners a licensing fee four times that of other breeds.

The fee would apply to pit bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, American pit bull terriers, or a cross of any of the breeds.

Pit bull owners would be required to pay a $200 “aggressive dog” licensing fee annually, and require their dog to be muzzled when off the owner’s property. Pit bulls would also be subject to higher impound fees. […]

MEETING REMINDER:

City Council will have it’s first reading of the revised vicious dog ordinance this evening at 7:00 PM in Council Chambers at City Hall. Please be in attendance to show support.

Newark, OH: Council Meeting Reminder:

Council will discuss today two separate communications received pertaining to the request by citizens to repeal it’s breed specific ordinance. Formal discussion of the proposal is not on today’s agenda, however a letter from Katie Bray Barnett, Esq., an attorney for Best Friends Animal Society, supporting the repeal of Newark’s breed discriminatory law encourages the City to enact a more progressive reckless owner law. Additionally, an anonymous email received by all council members from a ‘csunbean@aol.com’ has requested that council members schedule a first ever meeting for pit-bull attack victims.

Both of the communications are on today’s meeting agenda. Residents are encouraged to attend. There is time designated for comments from citizens directly following the “communications received” portion of the meeting.

The meeting starts at 7:00 P.M. at City Hall. 217 Cynthia Street.Thank you to Jodi Preis at Bless the Bullys.

UPDATE:

Owners protest breed-specific bylaw in Maple Ridge

More than 50 pit bulls, Rottweilers, Dobermans, Dachshunds and even Shih Tzus took to the streets of downtown Maple Ridge with their owners Sunday afternoon to protest a proposed bylaw that would single out certain breeds as aggressive.

Two months ago, District of Maple Ridge staff recommended a bylaw that would single out pit bull breeds, such as Staffordshire terriers and American pit bull terriers, as “aggressive” and charge their owners a $200 licensing fee annually, four times that of other breeds. Pit bulls would also be required to be muzzled when off the owner’s property and would also be subject to higher impound fees.

[…]

Bylaws director Liz Holitzki said singling out pit bulls is designed to encourage responsible pet ownership. While both the district and SPCA receive complaints about problem dogs of all breeds, there is significant public concern about pit bulls, in particular.

[…]The bylaw comes back before Maple Ridge council for discussion at a workshop meeting on Oct. 15, and Munz hopes councillors will have a change of heart and steer clear of any breed-specific language.

Proposed Maple Ridge bylaw to single out pit bulls

District of Maple Ridge staff are recommending a new dog bylaw that singles out pit bulls as “aggressive” and would charge their owners a licensing fee four times that of other breeds.

The fee would apply to pit bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, American pit bull terriers, or a cross of any of the breeds.

Pit bull owners would be required to pay a $200 “aggressive dog” licensing fee annually, and require their dog to be muzzled when off the owner’s property. Pit bulls would also be subject to higher impound fees. […]

UPDATE:

Owners protest breed-specific bylaw in Maple Ridge

More than 50 pit bulls, Rottweilers, Dobermans, Dachshunds and even Shih Tzus took to the streets of downtown Maple Ridge with their owners Sunday afternoon to protest a proposed bylaw that would single out certain breeds as aggressive.

Two months ago, District of Maple Ridge staff recommended a bylaw that would single out pit bull breeds, such as Staffordshire terriers and American pit bull terriers, as “aggressive” and charge their owners a $200 licensing fee annually, four times that of other breeds. Pit bulls would also be required to be muzzled when off the owner’s property and would also be subject to higher impound fees.

[…]

Bylaws director Liz Holitzki said singling out pit bulls is designed to encourage responsible pet ownership. While both the district and SPCA receive complaints about problem dogs of all breeds, there is significant public concern about pit bulls, in particular.

[…]The bylaw comes back before Maple Ridge council for discussion at a workshop meeting on Oct. 15, and Munz hopes councillors will have a change of heart and steer clear of any breed-specific language.

Proposed Maple Ridge bylaw to single out pit bulls

District of Maple Ridge staff are recommending a new dog bylaw that singles out pit bulls as “aggressive” and would charge their owners a licensing fee four times that of other breeds.

The fee would apply to pit bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, American pit bull terriers, or a cross of any of the breeds.

Pit bull owners would be required to pay a $200 “aggressive dog” licensing fee annually, and require their dog to be muzzled when off the owner’s property. Pit bulls would also be subject to higher impound fees. […]

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